The occasional, often ill-considered thoughts of a Roman Catholic permanent deacon who is ever grateful to God for his existence. Despite the strangeness we encounter in this life, all the suffering we witness and endure, being is good, so good I am sometimes unable to contain my joy. Deo gratias!

The thoughts expressed here are my personal thoughts and sometimes reflect my political views. As a private citizen I have every right to express these views.

Monday, November 29, 2010

It seems to have become fashionable these days to blame others for one's own mistakes. I suppose this is simply a symptom of the highly litigious nature of our society, a society where people now don't hesitate to sue each other at the drop of a hat...or a cup of hot coffee. Did you make a mistake? Just blame someone else and call your local 1-800 law firm. They'll handle the suit and may even have a few bucks for you once all the legal costs are covered.

And, of course, thanks to your friendly neighborhood trail lawyer, the cost of doing (and staying in) business has skyrocketed in recent decades driving up the prices of every product and service. One need only glance at the instructions that come with many products to realize how lawsuits have spawned the many absurd warnings that appear. For example, last year I purchased a replacement smoke detector and found this cryptic warning prominently displayed on the instruction sheet: "Do not use the Silence Feature in emergency situations. It will not extinguish a fire." It would appear someone had thought otherwise or this warning would not have been included.. And I'm sure some lawyer made more than a few dollars as a result.

But today I read a story about the ultimate victim, a highly paid (overpaid?) NFL player, Steve Johnson, a wideout for the Buffalo Bills. Now Mr. Johnson didn't sue the person he believes is responsible for his troubles, because that person is really quite un-sueable. You see, this otherwise talented wide receiver inexplicably dropped a perfect pass in the end zone during overtime in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers subsequently marched down the field and kicked the winning field goal. Mr. Johnson was obviously unhappy.

Steve Johnson of the Bills contemplating the offending football

Now one would think the 24-year-old would be upset with himself. But, no! He didn't blame himself for his momentary lapse; he blamed the un-sueable one. He blamed God. That's right, after the game he turned on his iPad and posted the following on Twitter:

I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!!AND THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!!! THX THO...

Since God surely has a sense of humor (He inspired the Book of Jonah, and he recruited the Zebedee boys as Apostles, so we know this to be true.), I expect He's getting a good laugh thanks to Steve Johnson.

But isn't it interesting how the victim mentality, the mentality that automatically rejects any degree of personal responsibility, can so completely distort one's view of reality? Rereading his tweet, I got the sense that Mr Johnson is a wee bit wrapped up in himself. We can only hope that he will indeed learn from this and perhaps better understand why he should praise God 24/7.

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Some Personal Stuff

I'm a permanent deacon of the Roman Catholic Church, incardinated in the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, but now living and ministering in the Diocese of Orlando, Florida. I'm also a retired naval aviator, educator, and business consultant. Politically -- perhaps more accurately, philosophically -- I'm a Russell Kirk conservative. More importantly, though, I am husband of the beautiful Diane, the father of four, and grandfather of nine.